Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) ignited controversy on Sunday by comparing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “slave patrols” during an MSNBC interview. Her ICE slave patrols remark came as she dismissed concerns about migrant crime, claiming White supremacists commit murders at far higher rates.
“As somebody who understands history, when I see ICE, I see slave patrols,” Crockett told MSNBC host Ali Velshi. She argued, “None of us want to be unsafe. Yeah, but we’re not looking at the facts…for every immigrant that you have an example of, I’ll raise you at least two to five White supremacist if not more right?”
Crockett has faced criticism before for minimizing migrant-related crimes. At a House hearing last week, she referred to 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton, murdered by an illegal immigrant tied to MS-13, as a “random dead person.”
Federal data, however, paints a different picture. In September 2024, ICE reported 13,000 convicted murderers and 1,845 facing homicide charges on its docket, with more than 662,000 illegal immigrants carrying criminal records.
Crockett doubled down on her rhetoric, insisting law enforcement must follow “the data and facts” and again tying policing to slavery. “If you know the history of policing in this country, then you understand that they were born out of slave patrols,” she said.
The comments drew swift pushback, with critics pointing to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling expanding immigration enforcement powers.
